For two years I have devoted my summers volunteering at the Burnt Hills Veterinary Hospital. It is fun to work with animals and the doctors and others volunteers.

The animals that board in the back of the hospital need to be walked, so we get to walk them. We also visit the animals that need or have already had surgery. They have special tags on their kennels that say "May Bite" or "Do Not Feed" or "No More Water," so no one gets hurt. We get to feed and pet the animals, and even watch surgery. I remember one day I was there for eight hours and got to fix the pills with another girl. We had to take apart the capsules, dump out the medication, chop it finer with a razor and stuff it back into another capsule.

At the hospital one cat has to stay permanently because it was hit by a car and its tongue is paralyzed. Since this poor cat can't wash itself, we give him baths all the time and he actually loves water. His name is Pig Pen.

I got involved in helping because, as part of my Honor Society, we need to do community service. Since I love animals, I called and asked to help. Also, after you have worked there for a while, they sometimes will hire you to work on a part-time basis and get paid. fl